Maryland makes history with the first-ever all-women National Guard command staff

Take a look at the leadership of the Maryland National Guard and you’ll notice a big similarity—the command staff is made up of all women.

Last fall, the state of Maryland made history as the first state within the National Guard, including Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories, to be led by women.

“What I didn’t want is to have a female leadership team that’s not competent,” Maj. Gen. Linda Singh told the Washington Post.

(U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy)

Singh serves as the 19th adjutant general of Maryland where she advises the governor on all things readiness, administration, and training for the state’s service members.

Along with Singh, “The Old Line State” is also led by Brig. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, the assistant adjacent general for Army, Brig. Gen. April D. Vogel, assistant adjutant general for Air, and lastly, Sgt. Maj. Perlisa D. Wilson, the senior enlisted adviser for the Maryland National Guard.

(Photo by Maj. Kurt Rauschenberg)

"I hope this says to women around the country and serving around the world: We are here and we are serving next to our comrades. We are equals," Wilson said in an interview with WBALTV.

This landmark comes during a decade that has seen continuous "firsts" for women in the military. There have been multiple women to graduate from Army Ranger school and this month, the first enlisted female airman attempted training for the special operations weather career field.